Blunt Instruments: Recognizing Racist Cultural Infrastructure in Memorials, Museums, and Patriotic Practices

Hass (Sacrificing Soldiers on the National Mall), a professor of American culture at the University of Michigan, delivers a succinct and illuminating “field guide... to racist cultural infrastructure in the United States.” Unearthing “the power of the ordinary... to naturalize simple untruths,” Hass examines Civil War memorials, museums, public parks, and such patriotic rituals as the Pledge of Allegiance. Throughout, she calls into question the apparent timelessness and naturalness of these places, objects, and practices and uncovers the messages of white supremacy embedded within them. For example, Hass shows that most Confederate statues were erected decades after the Civil War and were intended as much to intimidate Black Southerners as to pay tribute to Confederate soldiers and officers. She also reveals the messages of racial and ethnic hierarchy encoded in displays at the American Museum of Natural History and other institutions, and notes that rituals venerating the American flag have emerged when the nation feels itself threatened, whether by mass immigration in the 1890s–1900s, Soviet communism in the 1950s, or terrorism in the early 21st century. Though Hass covers well-trod ground, this is a lucid and immersive primer for those seeking background on recent debates over how America honors its past. Illus. (Nov.)